The first European settlers in the Bay of Islands formed a volunteer militia from which some New Zealand Army units trace their origins.

Major Alfred William Robin led the First Contingent sent from New Zealand to South Africa to participate in the Boer War in October 1899.

After serving in the territorials until 25 (or less if earlier reliefs were recommended), and in the reserve until 30, a discharge was granted; but the man remained liable under the Militia Act to be called up, until he reached the age of 55.

The total number of New Zealand troops and nurses to serve overseas in 1914–1918, excluding those in British and other dominion forces, was 100,000, from a population of just over a million.

[11] The New Zealand government ordered a general stand-down of the defensive forces in the country on 28 June, which led to further reductions in the strength of units and a lower state of readiness.

[12] By the end of the year, almost all of the Territorial Force personnel had been demobilised (though they retained their uniforms and equipment), and only 44 soldiers were posted to the three divisional and seven brigade headquarters.

After some debate, on 26 July 1950, the New Zealand government announced it would raise a volunteer military force to serve with the United Nations Command in Korea.

The idea was opposed initially by Chief of the General Staff, Major-General Keith Lindsay Stewart, who did not believe the force would be large enough to be self-sufficient.

The New Zealanders immediately saw combat and spent the next two and a half years taking part in the operations which led the United Nations forces back to and over the 38th Parallel, later recapturing Seoul in the process.

Members from various branches of the NZ Army also served with U.S and Australian air and cavalry detachments as well as in intelligence, medical, and engineering.

After the 1983 Defence Review, the Army's command structure was adjusted to distinguish more clearly the separate roles of operations and base support training.

In 2003, the New Zealand government decided to replace its existing fleet of M113 armoured personnel carriers, purchased in the 1960s, with the Canadian-built NZLAV,[37] and the M113s were decommissioned by the end of 2004.

[38] The replacement of the M113s with the General Motors LAV III (NZLAV) led to a review in 2001 on the purchase decision-making by New Zealand's auditor-general.

[39] On 4 September 2010, in the aftermath of the 2010 Canterbury earthquake, the New Zealand Defence Force deployed to the worst affected areas of Christchurch to aid in relief efforts and assist NZ police in enforcing a night time curfew at the request of Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker and Prime Minister John Key.

[42] In addition, several surplus army equipment was donated, including 473 Enhanced Combat Helmets, 1,066 body armour plates and 571 flak vests and webbing.

On the 11th of April this was followed by dispatching 50 troops to Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom, primarily for logistics and intelligence purposes as a partner of NATO.

On the 23rd May 2022 it was announced that the Army was to send 30 soldiers to the United Kingdom to assist in training Ukrainian forces on the L119 light gun as part of Operation Interflex.

TF regiments prepare and provide trained individuals in order to top-up and sustain operational and non-operational units to meet directed outputs.

It is a national organisation appointed by the minister of defence to work with employers and assist in making Reserve personnel available for operational deployments.

In the early part of the war New Zealanders wore a black cravat embroidered with a small white Kiwi bird, a practice which began in Borneo in 1966.

The American uniforms were said to be popular with platoon leaders, mortar crew, and artillery men due to ease of carrying maps and documents.

The New Zealand Special Air Service were issued with standard U.S battle dress uniform fatigues in ERDL camouflage pattern during the Vietnam War period and through the 1970s thereafter.

British DPM was adopted in 1980 as the camouflage pattern for clothing, the colours of which were further modified several times to better suit New Zealand conditions.

The "lemon squeezer" was worn to a certain extent during World War II, although often replaced by more convenient forage caps or berets, or helmets.

[68][69][70] The MCU, with the addition of a beret or sometimes the Mounted Rifles Hat, was the working uniform for all branches and divisions of the NZ Army, and certain units within the RNZN and RNZAF.

[73] Uniform accessories such as plate carriers, webbing, belts and wet weather clothing will be purchased in MultiCam pattern to source using the current market and reduce costs.

The New Zealand Army makes use of the NZLAV wheeled infantry fighting vehicle, a variant of the Canadian LAV III.

A variety of transport and utility vehicles are used, principally including the Mercedes-Benz Unimog and its replacement, the Rheinmetall MAN RMMV HX[85][86] series of military trucks.

[89][90] The New Zealand Army currently has personnel deployed overseas on active service in:[91] In addition, personnel are also deployed on non-operational missions (such as providing support and training to partner nations, and gathering and analysing intelligence) in a number of locations including in Europe as part of Operation Tieke,[92] providing support to Ukraine outside of its territory as part of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Remembrance Day, commemorating the end of World War I on 11 November 1918, is marked by official activities with a military contribution normally with parades and church services on the closest Sunday.